


Death by Seafood

by Neko_Kururu



Category: DOGS (Manga)
Genre: Fluff, Food Poisoning, Gen, Swearing, Vomiting
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-04-15
Updated: 2014-04-15
Packaged: 2018-01-19 11:25:40
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,071
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1467748
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Neko_Kururu/pseuds/Neko_Kururu
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Badou gets sick after a party and Haine must (reluctantly) take care of him.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Death by Seafood

**Author's Note:**

> Fic originally posted March 2009 on my old (now defunct) livejournal.
> 
> Slightly edited for typos, misplaced commas and weird wording.

It was a Saturday evening when the sky ripped apart, letting a flow of water drown the grey city below. Merchants and shoppers hurried home, while the shadier denizens slunk back into the darkness. As the rain pounded against rooftops and umbrellas, people walking by the restaurant Buon Viaggio could only wonder what could be the cause for such celebration.  
  
“To a mission accomplished with only minimal damages and maximum gain!” Cheered Badou, raising his glass in the air.  
  
Mihai clinked his glass with him, “And maybe to a bit of peace in this neighbourhood.”  
  
His wife and Mimi joined in right after him, Naoto only shyly. Haine, on the other hand, sat in a corner away from the rest. His finger absently traced the rim of his still full glass as he watched the water drops slide down the window.  
  
“Can you not enjoy yourself without killing someone?” A voice came up behind him, startling him.  
  
The albino turned and frowned at Badou, then turned back to the window before answering, “I don’t see what’s worth celebrating. We always have missions like this last one.”  
  
“Ah yes, but this one-” The redhead explained as he motioned the other to move over for him, “This was a really big mission. If you had stayed long enough, you would have heard all of Granny Liza’s account.”  
  
“What’s so different? We busted in, shot some holes in the right places and rescued the kids.” Haine grumbled. At this time, he didn’t care; he was tired and just wanted to go home.  
  
“You fucking with me or do you really not know?”  
  
He looked at Badou in confusion, saw the serious look on his face and finally focused his full attention on their conversation.  
  
“Shit, c’mere...” The redhead passed his arm around Haine’s shoulders, bringing their heads together, and whispered, “Those fuckers you shot up weren’t just smugglers. They had somehow gotten their hands on some info about the recent black soldier attacks and our job, at least mine, was to retrieve that info. The fact that those kids were mixed up in there was just a coincidence, and anyway-”  
  
“What are you creeps whispering about?”  
  
The two men started apart, Haine pushing himself far against the wall when he saw how close the young woman stood to them.  
  
“God damn it Mimi, don’t you know what personal space is? Or privacy? Fuck!” Growled the redhead before shooting a glance at his terrified partner.  
  
“My PI instinct acted up and I just had to know.” She shrugged as she moved away, but then added snarkly, “And that is the difference between a good detective and a lousy one like you.”  
  
“You’re just jealous because I hit something big.” He snorted.  
  
“Yeah, a wall.”  
  
Badou was about to snap back with something nasty but was interrupted when the restaurant’s chef announced dinner was ready. He and the two waiters were laying out several dishes and plates, all of which wafted appetizing smells of spices and meat and sauces and other things the redhead didn’t recognize. His attention, however, narrowed on the plates with seafood and fish.  
  
“Well everyone, enjoy!” Smiled Kiri.  
  
\---

  
The rest of the evening passed fairly quietly with conversations starting, mixing up and then being replaced by something more interesting. Haine was of course the least talkative, and Badou gave up trying to include him when it was clear it was not working. So the albino sat back in his corner and stared out the window absent-mindedly.  
  
Eventually, the cook and his two assistants approached the owner at around two in the morning, “If you will excuse us dear Kiri, it is long past our bedtime.”   
  
“Of course. Thank you very much for the feast, it was great.” The blonde woman smiled, “I will see you again tomorrow morning.”  
  
The three men bid the rest of the group good night and left; after that, the party slowed before stopping completely an hour later.  
  
“Seeing as it is so late, I imagine you will all be staying over?” Mihai asked.  
  
Mimi and Naoto had already been dozing off at a nearby table but they nodded in unison at the idea of sleeping over. Haine shrugged, indifferent. The only one who did not answer was Badou, who looked like he had passed out in Haine’s corner, his head lying on the table, face covered by red hair.  
  
“The fool probably drank too much.” Snorted Mimi, who wobbled a bit as she got up but steadied herself with Naoto’s help. Naoto shot her a judging look but said nothing.  
  
“I will go prepare the rooms.” Kiri said as she headed toward the stairs, “Mimi, you and Naoto will share a room, and the boys will take the other one, alright?”  
  
“Sounds great, so long as I don’t have to hear Badou snore.” The younger woman giggled.  
  
“Is he okay?” Mihai asked in regards to the redhead.  
  
Haine looked at his partner, then poked his head, “Hey Badou, get up, we’re going upstairs now.”  
  
A small groan came from the other, then nothing.  
  
“Badou you drunk, get up or I’m leaving you here.” Grumbled the albino.  
  
Mihai, sensing there was something wrong, bent down by the redhead and gently shook his shoulder, which merely elicited another groan. Carefully, he pulled him up from the table, “Badou, are you alright?”  
  
The man cracked his eye open to glance at Mihai and muttered groggily, “Don’t feel good...”  
  
“Don’t worry, you’ll feel better after washing your face and a good night’s sleep.” Soothed the older man.  
  
Shakily, Badou was pulled up and propped against Mihai for support so they could make their way upstairs, Haine trailing behind. Once on the second floor, Kiri met them, “Here is your room.” Then added when she saw the redhead, “Is he okay? He’s pale.”  
  
“He intoxicated himself, is all.” Replied the albino.  
  
“But I thought he only had two beers...” Kiri muttered to herself as the three passed her by.  
  
They were two steps inside the room when Badou suddenly pushed himself away from Mihai and ran to the bathroom, a hand on his mouth. Haine saw him fall down on his knees in front of the toilet and clumsily pull back most of his hair before he started throwing up. At the sound, Kiri rushed in, “Is that Badou?”  
  
Mihai made a face before nodding. His wife shook her head, “I’ll go downstairs and get him some water and medicine. You make sure the girls don’t come in.”  
  
The blonde woman hurried down to the kitchen while her husband pushed Mimi back in her room saying everything was under control. Meanwhile, Haine was left on his own.  
  
“Idiot.” He sighed.  
  
He walked in the bathroom and, waiting for the redhead to come up from the toilet bowl, kneeled down to gather the scarlet hair and keep it out of Badou's way. He tried to keep it bunched together as much as possible, and not pull on it when Badou would jerk his head down.  
  
Badou was still gagging when Kiri came back in the room, grimacing at the grunts and noises he was making, “I brought the things. Have him drink some water then take about two spoonfuls when he’s done.” She put the glass, spoon and medicine bottle down on the shelf by the bathroom door and, after pausing a moment in concern, left, closing the door behind her.  
  
“I think- I’m dying-” Croaked Badou after finally catching a break, his words coming in between gasps.  
  
Haine couldn’t help but smirk, “You always said you’d die by bullet or smoke, but I guess you never considered alcohol poisoning.”  
  
“Fuck you.” The redhead coughed, shuddered, and spat in the toilet before finally flushing, “I barely drank.”  
  
His partner pulled on the hair, making the other weakly fall back against him, “Then what happened?”  
  
Badou was about to reply when he was attacked by another surge. He almost wrenched his hair out of Haine’s grip as he jerked down to heave the rest of his dinner down the toilet. Thankfully, Haine was there to make sure it didn’t get dirty.  
  
As the redhead quivered and worked through laboured breathing, Haine started massaging Badou’s shoulders and back with his free hand, the tough fingers tracing soothing circular patterns and the palm applying warm pressure. It gave Haine something to do and seemed to make the other’s sickness go away a little.  
  
“I think it was the seafood...” Badou said after a while.  
  
Haine shrugged, “I didn’t have any but the others did, so why aren’t they sick, too?”  
  
“I had a lot.” The other said as he flushed the toilet again, “I couldn’t remember the last time I had shrimp or oysters or any of that other shit, so I went all out.”  
  
The gunner kept silent but continued to massage him. They stood like that for a long while, or at least until Badou was sure he was done throwing up his spleen. Eventually, Haine steadied him as he tried to get up and wash his face in the sink, still keeping the hair out of his way. Badou removed his eye patch and after a few times of splashing water, then rinsing his mouth twice, Badou dared to raise his head and look at himself in the mirror above the sink.  
  
“I really look like shit...” He mumbled.  
  
“I’ve seen worse.” The albino tried to joke.  
  
The other groaned and leaned over the sink, a shiver passing through him, “Fuck, not again.”  
  
He took long deep breaths, his eye tightly shut and his hands gripping the edge of the ceramic bowl. At that moment, Haine remembered a trick Bishop used to do when Nill was sick. With his free arm, he reached around the redhead and gently pressed against his stomach with his hand flat at the same time he pulled him back against his chest.  
  
“What the fuck are you-” Began Badou.  
  
“Bishop showed me.” Haine replied softly, “It helps.”  
  
Slowly, he moved his hand in a small circle, then a larger circle when the redhead relaxed against him. After a few minutes passed in silence, Badou was actually starting to feel somewhat better, the nausea almost completely gone. He also realized he was exhausted, but the feeling of his partner’s chest against him was strangely comforting, so he closed his eye and stayed where he was.  
  
“Better?” Haine whispered near his ear.  
  
“Mmyes.”  
  
“Good.”  
  
The albino finally released Badou’s hair, slowly passing his fingers through the thin strands as he did. When the other did not move, he passed his arm around him and held him tighter against him, bringing him closer so he could nuzzle him behind his ear and then by his temple. The redhead was surprised but said nothing and did not pull away. This was one of the extra rare times when Haine showed affections, though he had never been on the receiving end of them --he had only ever seen them shown toward Nill, if at all. Badou was unfamiliar with this side of the gunner, and maybe felt a little awkward, but he knew better than to jerk away.  
  
Anyway, he was too tired to argue.  _If you can’t beat them, join them_ , he thought absently.  
  
With a sigh, Badou lazily opened his eye; he was surprised when he caught sight of their reflection. The way they looked together, almost peaceful. He couldn’t help a small smile, couldn’t help thinking back to his brother, how much he missed him and how peaceful things were back then...  
  
“What’s wrong?” Asked Haine, his lips brushing against the redhead’s ear, startling him somewhat.  
  
Badou caught those red eyes watching him in the mirror, then looked down, “Just... thinking.” Suddenly shaking himself out of it, he pulled away from the albino’s arms, growled, “Look at me, acting all fucking sentimental!” He glared at the other via the mirror, “Don’t you pull that shit on me again, you hear? I don’t need to be a fucking sap.” With that, he turned on the tap and washed his face in cold water to hide his flush.  
  
Haine seemed a bit disappointed, but then he smiled and said teasingly, “It’s not my fault you looked so pathetic.”  
  
Badou glared at him, then muttered “I don’t need your god damn pity” in his towel. The other snorted before walking out of the bathroom.  
  
“Now that you’re not puking anymore, you might want to take the medicine Kiri brought you.”  
  
The redhead resisted the temptation to throw his towel at the other’s head, and instead complied. After downing the recommended dose, Badou made a grimace and stuck his tongue out as he walked into the bedroom they were sharing, “Why does stuff that makes you better have to taste like shit?”  
  
Haine shrugged before starting to remove his equipment. He unclipped the first belt, letting it fall to the floor with a thud, then more carefully removed the second belt to which the holsters were hooked. He put that one on a nearby chair, then sat down on his bed to take off his boots.  
  
Badou watched for a moment before dropping unceremoniously in his own bed, shoes and all. He immediately regretted it when his vision began swimming and the nausea tugged at his gut.  
  
The gunner saw and rolled his eyes, “You’re not supposed to lie down right away...”  
  
Badou balled up on his side, facing the wall, and let out a low groan as he clutched his stomach. He tried to curse, expecting mockery from his partner, but instead felt confusion when two pillows landed beside his head and the albino eased him back into a sitting position. Arranging the four pillows against the headrest, he set the redhead down against them.  
  
“You’re not my nurse.” Badou managed to hiss.  
  
Haine snorted, then yanked the bed sheets from under him with more force than necessary before answering, “Just shut the fuck up already.”  
  
This time, the other held his tongue and allowed himself to be covered with the sheets and another blanket, all the while glaring at the albino. Haine returned the glare before walking away and turning off the lights. Badou blinked a few times, trying to get used to the sudden darkness; he heard his partner walk back to his bed, then the sound of sliding fabric, which he assumed was Haine removing his jacket.  
  
“Stop staring and go to sleep.”  
  
 _Jesus_ , Badou thought,  _the fucker can see in the dark, too!_  
  
He closed his eye and waited until he was sure he could see and then peeked at the albino through his eyelashes. By now, he was laying in bed, arms under his head (seeing as he gave all his pillows to him) and gazing at the ceiling. Despite the blinds, the pale moon peeked from the clouds and lit the room, creating odd shadows. Badou noticed how the beams caught on his partner's snowy white hair and vaguely wondered if it was as soft as it looked.  
  
“Badou?”  
  
The redhead made a chocked sound of surprise before answering as flatly as he could, “What?”  
  
“Do you think Nill is sleeping?”  
  
Badou raised an eyebrow, “Of course she’s sleeping! Why the hell would she still be up at this ungodly hour?” He wanted to add  _she’s not like you_  but he kept that one to himself.  
  
The room went quiet and, as time passed, Badou slowly began falling asleep. He was about to pull the covers up to his chin when he suddenly felt something warm beside him. He yelped; he couldn’t help himself and yelped and a hand covered his mouth, followed by a shushing sound.  
  
“You’ll wake the others.” Came Haine’s voice in a harsh whisper.  
  
“What the fuck do you think you’re doing?” The redhead hissed back.  
  
“Shut up and move over.” The other ordered quietly.  
  
Badou complied, still bewildered. Haine slipped under the covers before huddling against him, his body colder than his, making Badou shiver. The redhead waited until Haine was settled before asking again, “What the fuck?”  
  
“I was cold.”  
  
“Couldn’t you just cover yourself like a normal person?”  
  
“I gave you the extra blanket.” He said, huddling closer, “And anyway, you owe me ’cause I took care of you.”  
  
The redhead shifted, trying to accommodate both of them on the small bed, “Yeah but... this?”  
  
It’s not that he was uncomfortable, quite the opposite: as Haine warmed up some, it made whatever lingering aches and pains Badou had disappear, including his sickness. He didn’t even mind that the hair he had been staring at earlier was tickling his chin because it actually was quite soft.  
  
With a sigh, he resigned himself and, passing an arm around the albino’s shoulders, pulled him closer still, “Just don’t wake me before noon, alright?”  
  
When Haine didn’t answer, the redhead realized he had already fallen asleep. He sighed again before tugging on the covers, closing his eye and soon following suit with his partner. Slumber came more easily than it had in weeks and, Badou figured with his last conscious thought, that Haine being by his side might have had something to do with it.  
  
\---

  
Mimi knocked on the door, quietly at first, then louder again when she heard nothing, but no one came to answer. Jiggling the handle, she realized it wasn’t locked, so she carefully pushed it open and peeked in.  
  
“Badou? You still alive?”  
  
What she saw forced her into silence. The redhead was propped against several pillows, his head turned toward the wall as the late morning sun filtered through the blinds. What had startled Mimi however was seeing Haine huddled against him, his head resting on Badou’s chest as it rose and fell steadily, one arm slung across the redhead's stomach. Badou’s own arm was loosely draped around Haine's shoulders. Between the two of them permeated a strangely peaceful feeling, or anyway, she had certainly never seen the albino this relaxed.

  
She stood at the door still in shock, eyes wide and filled with what was she could only label as a tender moment. A few minutes passed in silence, her body not daring to move an inch, her mind still processing this new information. Then, a devilish smirk crossed her lips as she pulled out her camera, conveniently procuring herself with what she knew was priceless blackmail material.


End file.
